Xbox One users will now be able to play their Xbox 360 games on Microsoft’s newest console thanks to the backwards compatibility feature announced by the Windows maker, with a few titles already prepped up and available for the experience.
When Microsoft announced the Xbox One, it was abundantly clear that Xbox 360 games would not be compatible to run on the new console. It was expected but still a disappointment for many 360 users who were upgrading to Xbox One as they had to start building new games library from scratch for Microsoft’s latest gaming powerhouse. Speaking at the E3 opening keynote, Microsoft announced that all of that is now history as the company plans on bringing “native” backwards compatibility to the Xbox One.
Sharing this incredible piece of news, Phil Spencer, the Xbox chief, further added that a select few titles would be available to Xbox One preview members starting today, with over a hundred titles expected to make the cut by this holiday – but Microsoft hasn’t made clear ‘which’ titles they are going to be. So, what if you already own an Xbox 360 game? Obviously, you shouldn’t be charged anything, considering you’ve already paid for the game, and luckily this is exactly how Microsoft is playing it out – given that any alternative would beat the whole purpose of this update.
Users who already own Xbox 360 titles will see their games pop up automatically in their account that they can then download on Xbox One digitally, and to sweeten the deal, Microsoft is also throwing in the ability to live broadcast, take screenshots, enable DVR features on these 360 games, giving users a slightly fresher experience of those old games.
This is a significantly huge move from Microsoft, and one that will definitely go down well with hardcore gamers around the globe. If you have an old Xbox 360 library of games lying around, Microsoft has today given you a good reason to latch on to it for the time to come.
We’ll bring you more details on this news as we hear more from Microsoft at E3 this week, so stay tuned.
Update: Here are some of the Xbox 360 games that will be compatible to run on Xbox One. More to be added soon!
- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts-n-Bolts
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Banjo-Tooie
- BattleBlock Theater
- Defense Grid
- Geometry Wars Evolved
- Hexis HD
- Jetpac Refuelled
- Kameo
- Mass Effect
- Perfect Dark
- Perfect Dark Zero
- Small Arms
- Super Meat Boy
- Toy Soldiers
- Toy Soldiers: Cold War
- Viva Piñata
- Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise
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